Snackistan: 140 orientalische Kleinigkeiten

by Sally Butcher

Hot on the heels of Veggiestan, Sally Butcher brings us Snackistan: a fictitious land where tummies are always full, and there's a slightly naughty smile on every face. Snackistan does not, of course, exist, any more than Veggiestan does. It is, rather, a borderless confederation of the Middle East's favourite foodstuffs. The simple fare that people actually eat on a daily basis: dishes they prepare at home, or cook to share with friends, or look forward to indulging in at the end of the week. We all like to snack - increasingly, formal dining is being nudged aside in favour of meze-style spreads. And, at the same time, street food has come of age. In malls and farmers markets across the world, food on the hoof has become a stylish and popular way to feed. This book picks out the Middle East's most exciting street foods and meze dishes, together with a range of homely and simple snack recipes elicited from family and friends. Chapters comprise Nuts and Nibbles, Fishy Things, Meat on Sticks, Meat Not on Sticks, Salady Stuff, Hot Veggie Dishes, Mostly Carbs, Puds, & Something to Wash it Down With. The burst of flavours is intoxicating, as is Sally's trademark wit and attention to detail - a must-buy for all Middle Eastern food enthusiasts.

Genres: Cookbooks, Cooking, Food, Travel

Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Sally Butcher is an accidental and accident-prone shop-keeper, and before that that she was an accidental and accident-prone chef. But both experiences have given her a lot to laugh about and even more to write about.

When she is not writing books in the back room, she blogs and tweets prolifically, helps her husband run their corner-shop, Persepolis, and organises all sorts of extra-curricular pop-up stuff. She is what is known in the trade as 'a bit of a busy body'.

- from her Amazon Profile

You can find some of her recipes here:

http://www.theguardian.com/profile/sa...

http://foratasteofpersia.co.uk/catego...

http://veggiestan.com/topic/recipes/

http://snackistan.co.uk/category/reci...

Reviews

[Madel · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF

[DelAnne Frazee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Title: Snackistan - Street Food, Comfort Food, Meze: Informal Eating in the Middle East & Beyond
Author: Sally Butcher
Publisher: Anova Books/Pavillion
Published: 10-3-2013
ISBN: 10:1909108
ISBN 13: 9781909108301
E-Book ASIN: B000FRMUDC6
Pages: 396
Genre: Cooking & Wine
Tags: Ethinic, Cookbook


Many can find recipes for a particular region in the world, but it is a rare find when you can get your hands on one that gives you an insight to where the recipes comes from and a quick history or story to go with them as well. When visiting a new area such as Mexico or Greece I have a tendency to gravitate to the street vendors and little out of the way restaurants for a more authentic culinary adventure. If you only go to the larger hotels or tourist restaurants you may miss a chance to enjoy the true experience of that country. It is also important to look for those things when looking for a cookbook of ethnic recipes.


That is what Snackistan - Street Food, Comfort Food, Meze: Informal Eating in the Middle East & Beyond does. Sally Butcher goes that extra step to give us insights to the people that created these unique dishes. With her cookbook she will take you on a culinary tour with the foods offered by street vendors. There are so many recipes to choose from. so I started with one of my favorite vegetables CARROTS using the recipe Carrots With Cardamon and Cumin. Then I pared it with the Caspian Fish Kebabs and Beef Kabob, Georgian Style for a main dish. For dessert I made the Fried Watermelon with Halloumi. The Fish Kababs and the Beef Kabobs were a great hits. Ms. Butcher was right about if you put it on a stick the kids will eat it. I personally gorged on the carrots. Unfortunately only two out of the seven at dinner cared for the watermelon.


This cookbook has a variety of dishes to tempt your pallet. You will have a wide variety of recipes to try. Don't wait to pick up a copy for yourself today.

[Teresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I simply could not get into this cookbook. It was partially the tone of the writing (strangely too familiar and the use of "snackistan" constantly was a bit too much) and partially the dearth of photos. From my own experience there were some recipes I should've wanted to make right away but by the time I made it through the header notes to the recipe I'd be a lot less interested than when I started. Needs better design. Nevertheless, this is a unique cookbook full of a huge area's worth of regional dishes.

[Bartek Krupa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nicely written, with well developped snack part